I will be starting up a new project over at http://ctmiller.net early this winter. Please head over and subscribe if you’d like to know more when the time comes.

I bring you my final podcast episode, a discussion with my good friend J.C. Hutchins. It’s about a lot of things, but mostly, it’s about change.

Thanks, everyone.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Yes. Yes I am.

The above is a picture of my wife for some publicity shots for her new website.  She’s been playing out around town with both Jim Gill and Uzuzi of late. We’ll be ready to show off her new site and her full performance calendar in a few days.

Now, if you’ll excuse me…I’ll be in my bunk.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

The usual band of miscreants…taken in 1989 or 1990 by my friend James (not in the picture).

I’m the guy on the left.

Good Lord. Where did these kids go?

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Keep these around. You’ll be surprised how they apply on a daily basis.

• Share everything.
• Play fair.
• Don’t hit people.
• Put things back where you found them.
• Clean up your own mess.
• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
• Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Wash your hands before you eat.
• Flush.
• Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
• Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Take a nap every afternoon.
• When you go out in the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands and stick together.
• Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: the roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.
• Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die. So do we.
• And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK.

[Source: "ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN" by Robert Fulghum.  See his web site at http://www.robertfulghum.com/ ]

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

You can never have too many squirrels. Or was that lizards? Maybe I’m thinking of giant syringes. I forget.

Anyway, if you like squirrels and/or lizards and/or giant syringes you should check out the latest The Secret Lair comic.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Coding is one of those things that can be terribly interesting to a very specific portion of the population, and to everyone else, it is arcane knowledge either from On High or from The Pits of Hell, depending on the listeners’ outlook¹. Early in our marriage my wife learned the fine art of smiling and nodding encouragingly especially when she had no idea what I was talking about. It was impossible for me to really share what I was doing because the set of people who could appreciate it and the set of people I spend time with has little or no intersection.

I like to share my joys with people. Ask anyone who has had to suffer through my skimming thru an iPod while I play music for them², or who has come by after a trip to the book- or game store.  I like to to share the shiny stuff I find, and like a small child, I hope that they like it as much as I do.

This has been one of the reasons what I’ve pulled away from writing code during non-work hours: I want to focus on creating things which can be shared. It might be working up some ice cream with the new ice cream maker we received as a housewarming gift. It might be brewing beer or cooking a meal for my family. It might be gaming with friends…sharing time with likeminded folks can be the best sharing of all.  Code does not do this for me. Even podcasting does not do this for me. Social networking is a pale substitute³…I prefer the physical world to the Internet any day of the week.

What is it in life that brings you the most satisfaction?  Is it something you like to share, or do you keep it to your self?

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

1. Even my own outlook varies from day to day.
2. An exercise my wife has come to call Chris’s Top 40, and not in a good way
3. Social Networks are to Real World Interaction what Tofu Cheese is to Sharp Cheddar.

This past weekend, my brother brought over a box of old toys that migrated from my parents’ house to my other brother’s house and now to his.  We  unpacked the box and there was a great deal of Ooohing and Ahhhing from my kids who had never seen anything quite like the toys we were unpacking.

The biggest hit was the Star Wars Death Star playset, which, despite needing to be cleaned and having a few pieces missing, was still in pretty good shape. My brother generously allowed us to keep it along with a number of action figures and the next day my kids could not get enough of playing with it. It’s been nearly a week and it’s still in the living room; they are still enjoying it.

The Death Star set has no electronics. Nothing beeps, talks, or fires at you. Everything is manual. No batteries needed.  All my kids had was the setting (The Death Star) and the characters (the Action Figures¹). They played there for hours.

This was a reminder of two things to me:

• They really did make things differently when we were kids. True, this is because the tech was not there for certain things, but the quality and durability of the action figures and the playset surprised me, especially when compared to today’s Start Wars figures. The modern ones feel cheap and insubstantial. These…well…they’ve lasted through my and my brothers’ childhoods, and now my kids have them.
• It’s a great thing to listen to children as they use their imagination. Give it a try sometime. It’s a wake-up call.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

1. No. They are NOT dolls. They are Action Figures

And, that greatest of midwestern traditions, the Garage Sale.  We’re finally rid of all our old stuff. Thanks go out to James and Heather, who were our erstwhile and exhausted partners in the little venture.

Happy Monday, people. Let’s be careful out there.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

This is the view from my new backyard this morning.  A deer and her two does, grazing on the weeds at the back of the yard. While it means gardening will be a challenge, it was still an enchanting sight this morning as I drank my coffee on the back porch.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Unquiet Desperation is going to be shifting focus in the month of July. I’ve been using this as a personal blog for years, but I find that I want to take the time to explore new things here, and split some of my other interests off into other areas.

Unquiet Desperation: The Blog

I’ve said that I want to write essays, and my goal for this site will be to host those essays. The areas I want to cover here are:

1. Exploring living a simpler life in a rapidly-changing technological society
2. Using creative disciplines and ingenuity to make sense of and enhance the world around us
3. Examining the creative process in relationship and as a reaction to the pressures of daily life
4. Touching on the care of the soul via aesthetic experience

Unquiet Desperation: The Podcast

The renewed focus of the podcast will keep the exploratory tone of past incarnations, while veering sharply away from the well-worn geekly tropes.  I envision it as monthly exploration of a single topic, via essay, interview, music, or whatever else suits. The first episode of the new podcast will drop in late July.¹

Geeky Topics Live In The Secret Lair

The Secret Lair is a perfect outlet for  discussions about the entertainment, geekdom, and other topics I like to tackle. They belong there, not here.

Internet Memes, Video, Short Posts, Etc are Trinkets

Sure, I like to pass things along as much as the next guy. Those items will move to my Tumblr, Trinkets in a Coffee Can.

Programming Discussion

I consider this part of my personal creative life. Essays on programming will live here, as will topics in other creative disciplines, like writing or brewing.

* * *

Along with all of this, I’m working with Mick Bradley on a new look and feel for the site, and I’m looking forward to unveiling that once we’re done.

I will be restructuring categories and such over the new month, so if you see weirdness in the feed, please excuse it. It should only be temporary.

I want to thank everyone whose feedback and friendship have inspired and enabled me to gather this focus, especially Kris Johnson, Thomas Gideon, Mur Lafferty, J.C. Hutchins, David Moore, Jay Lynn, John Cmar, Natalie Metzger, Mick Bradley, and, my ever-patient wife, Cathy.

See you all when I return from my vacation. Try not to wreck the place while I’m gone.

-Chris

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

1. This will include the contributions of all the folks who have sent me audio already.

• In Episode 0036 of The Secret Lair, we discuss Iron Man 2, Sherlock Holmes, Doctor Who, and a few other assorted bits and pieces.
• In Episode 004 of From Python Import Podcast we learn why Dave hates Decorators, and discuss whether the Standard Library is the place where code goes to die. Additionally, Mike Pirnat joins us for a revelation about the Zen of Python.

Note: Apologies for the sound quality on both of these shows. My studio equipment is packed for the move, so we had to us my Zoom H4.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Behold the wonder.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Three thoughts:

• This has to be a mistake. Ray’s hardly a troublemaker. He doesn’t do spam. He follows the rules.
• Twitter really needs to have a better way of notifying people when they are suspended, just so they can appeal.
• Twitter, as a private company, can do whatever they want. Unlike Scoble, I don’t think they OWE us anything. but boy, it would be nice to have some recourse in cases like this.

I’ll be curious to see how this is resolved. Good luck, Ray.

UPDATE: He was back online as of 4:09pm EDT.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Why, Ken, I’m glad you asked.

My Summer Reading List for 2010

• Ilium by Dan Simmons: For years people have been telling me that I need to read Dan Simmons’ work. I’ve been told this because my friends know The Canterbury Tales is a favorite of mine, and Simmons’ Hyperion uses a similar storytelling style which I’d likely find interesting. However…I decided to skip Hyperion for now, mostly because I think I want to read it this winter, when I have time to sit and absorb the nuances of the text. Illium struck me as the sort of story I’d love to digest while on vacation: a modern Ph.D. finds himself reenacting the Trojan War on Mars, and takes steps to remedy the situation. That’s summer reading gold, baby.
• 1776 by David McCullough: McCullough’s style has always been accessible, and the fact that he starts the book talking about the situation in Britain after the battles of Lexiginton, Concord, and Bunker/Breed’s Hill caught my attention. It’s a sad state that, in the tale of the American Revolution that is taught in these United States, Britain is just The Villain; we never hear what the situation was over there. Once my attention was caught, I knew I had to see how the author retells the tale.
• Tales of the Dying Earth by Jack Vance: My friend Dave Lockwood gave me this book just before we moved back to Cleveland from Los Angeles, and I’ve been meaning to read it since I put my hands on it. I’ve purposefully left it out while packing my library for the move, and I hope to get to it over vacation.
• The Nights Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton: The trilogy is made up of the novels The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Hamilton’s work, and I found a gorgeous version of the trilogy at Barnes and Noble that I must possess. Once possessing, reading them seems to be the next logical step.
• The Hero with A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell: I’ve been listening to Campbell’s Mythology and the Individual lecture series, and I’ve found it to be stirring some of my creative juices. Stores are beginning to present themselves. Following this with Campbell’s seminal work on the monomyth is a slam dunk.
• The Adventures of Kavalier and Klay by Michael Chabon: Yet another one from the “You Gotta Read This” list, I borrowed this from my good friend James, and I really should read it before I’m forced to return it. I read the first chapter, and Chabon’s use of language is just glorious. I am able to lose myself in the style. I anticipate that I’ll finish this one in late August, just as the summer ends.

And now, to echo Ken: what are you reading this summer?

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

I’ve taken the plunge and contracted the talented Mick Bradley to help me create a look and feel that I can be happy with. We’re just in the planning stages, but so far, I’m happy with where things are going. This new theme is just something I’m playing with. I’ve found that I have a deep and abiding disdain for most WordPress themes. I’m hoping we can come up with something a little different.

He’s recommended that I upgrade to WP 3.0, and I’ll probably do that once I back everything up.  Ahhh, the bleeding edge, how I view thee with suspicion and trepidation…

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

Currently Listening To:

Turf by Luka Bloom

Realizing…

I have a love/hate relationship Leo Babauta, the author of the Zen Habits blog. As much as I enjoy his many lists about how to make my life simpler, I balk at purchasing his book about building a simpler life. This is mostly because I cannot get past the paradox of buying a book that will teach me how to do without buying more things.

If I buy it, I fear a black hole made of pure irony will swallow me whole.

Sorry, Leo.

Wishing…

Mur Lafferty would not be quite so good at totally kicking my ass. I like my carpet square of Comfort and Neurotic Longing, damn it.

Laughing at…

<swight>  ”DARPA Advances AI Program For Air Traffic Control”

<swight> C`mon they GOTTA call that SkyNet

<jonathans> haha

<jonathans> yeah

<jonathans> It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are at the arrival gate.

Thinking…

Of watching more of the first season of 24, since I missed the whole series. This is not unusual. I’ve accepted that I will always be 3-5 years behind the curve. The downside is that I don’t have a lot to discuss regarding the world of television entertainment. The upside is that my Network of Geekly Comrades who are up to date will filter out all the crap long before it occurs to me to watch it.

Hoping…

You all have a great weekend. I expect your essays on my desk Monday morning.

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

I drove to a neighborhood called Glenville on the east side of Cleveland.  There, at 10622 Kimberly Ave, is former home of one Jerry Siegel. It was in this house where he and his buddy Joe Shuster created on of the greatest icons in world culture.

This is the place where Superman was born.

Last year, author Brad Meltzer and a group of comic fans raised over $100,000 to renovate the birthplace of the most famous fictional character of the twentieth century. He pointed out, quite fairly, the City of Cleveland was letting the house rot, and that it was going to come down to the fans to save it.

And save it, they did.

Now, there’s a sign out front, and a plaque that tells you what you’re looking it.  But unless you knew to come here, you’d never know it existed.

The house is both inspirational and heartbreaking at the same time.  It’s wonderful that a bunch of people pitched in to raise money to save it. At the same time, the neighborhood is a mess. The vacant, boarded-up houses nearby are rotting; one had a sign to ward off looters: “NO COPPER. PVC PLUMBING ONLY.”

There are no fast food joints here. No large-chain gas stations. No Seven-Elevens. Hardly any business at all.

If there was ever a place that needed a hero, Glenville is it.

And yet, sitting there in my car, looking at the house, I was inspired. Two kids, two poor, frustrated, hormone-addled high-school kids created something wonderful there. That deserves some respect. That deserves some homage; some reverence.

Superman’s fame isn’t tawdy; it isn’t cheap. Unlike Batman, it isn’t born from angst and darkness. Superman is one of the most rare creations, he’s famous for being the Good Guy. There’s a purity to Superman that is utterly lacking in in most pop culture icons. It’s his signature, his staying power; it’s why people still look to this fictional character with hope.

These two kids took a man and gave him three things: 1) Morals, 2) Strength, and 3) Bulletproof Skin¹.  That’s it. That was the formula. Hardly original. in fact, other parts of the Superman myth were cribbed entirely from other sources. Doc Savage, for instance, was known as the Man of Bronze and had a Fortress of Solitude. Superman was not created in a vacuum…he was a mashup of things that came before, and he is greater than the sum of his parts.

As a creative guy, this gives me hope. There is a myth of originality that creative folks cling to, as if there is anything new under the yellow sun. All we can do is remix and recast not only without shame, but also without guile.

And greatness? Superman achieved worldwide acclaim and recognition. The Siegel and Shuster families, however, have been fighting for the rights to Superman for years.

And the house in Glenville, where the two boys drew on old pieces of wallpaper, nearly passed away entirely.

The house serves as both inspiration and cautionary tale. It is both despair and hope, both dread and faith.

And between those, it endures.

Just like all of us.

(Click below to read the plaque)

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

1. In the beginning, he couldn’t fly. He could only leap.

Out of respect for the British people, I did not attempt an accent.

Thargus thought the time right. He set the lights to full strength and flailed and gnashed and roared as he’d been practising. He felt rather silly, but the performance seemed to be working. The human, one hand steadying its spin, looked on intensely. It moved the white stick up to its mouth, breathed in, and then stabbed the stick out against the sac wall. “Don’t be afraid,”  Thargus said, meaning the opposite. He’d seen the trick on old films stored in the moss-brain when humans always said one thing and meant another like “We’re safer if we split up.” The human exhaled a long stream of smoke. “I’m not,” it said. That didn’t sound right. Thargus considered his response while staring at the human. It sure was ugly. A patchwork of dirty synthetics over the majority of its body, and on top of its pudgy, pink head, strand upon strand of greasy hair. Ugh!  Thargus felt sick. “Be afraid, then,” he said. “Why, are you going to eat me?” Thargus didn’t feel comfortable telling an outright lie, but that didn’t mean he needed to be too honest. “I might.”

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.

This would not be nearly as funny to me had I not worked at a startup or two when “social” was on the upswing. Those of you who have done the same….you’ll understand.

(Note…the end is NSFW for language. Use headphones.)

(Thanks to J.C. for passing this one on.)

Feel free to Flattr this post at flattr.com, if you like it.